Declension

Pronunciation: /dɪˈklɛnʃən/

Definitions of declension

noun a class of nouns or adjectives that have the same type of inflectional forms

Example Sentences

A1 I learned about basic declensions in my beginner language class.

A2 She struggled with understanding the declensions of nouns in Latin.

B1 The declension of adjectives in German can be quite complex.

B2 Studying the declension of verbs in Russian helped me improve my language skills.

C1 The professor's lecture on the declension of pronouns was both informative and challenging.

C2 Her research paper delved deep into the historical development of declensions in Indo-European languages.

Examples of declension in a Sentence

formal The Latin language has a complex system of declension for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives.

informal I struggled with understanding the declension of words in my language class.

slang I ain't got time for all this declension stuff, it's too confusing.

figurative The declension of the company's profits over the years is a cause for concern.

Grammatical Forms of declension

• past tense: declined
• plural: declensions
• comparative: more declined
• superlative: most declined
• present tense: declines
• future tense: will decline
• perfect tense: has declined
• continuous tense: is declining
• singular: declension
• positive degree: declension
• infinitive: to decline
• gerund: declining
• participle: declining

Origin and Evolution of declension

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Latin

Story behind the word: The word 'declension' originates from the Latin word 'declinatio' which means 'a bending, slope, or inflection'. It was used in Latin grammar to refer to the variation of the form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective to express distinctions of case, gender, number, and tense.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the term 'declension' has come to be used more broadly in linguistics to refer to the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs in various languages, not just Latin. It has also been adopted in mathematics and other fields to describe a downward slope or decline.